1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the remote control of a computer or other electronic device using remote control signals broadcast to a wireless transceiver or communication port of the computer or other electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Travelers who fly frequently are accustomed to the ritual of turning off and stowing notebook or other portable computers during airplane takeoff and landing. Airlines require that computers and other types of electronic devices be turned off for periods around takeoff and landing to ensure that electromagnetic radiation from these devices does not interfere with the airplane""s navigation and communications systems. Turning off, packing and stowing computers in overhead bin storage is cumbersome and time consuming, sometimes leading to delays in takeoff or allowing computers to remain operating undesirably long into the landing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,407 to Huffman, et al. (the Huffman patent), entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Device for Inhibiting the Operation of an Electronic Device During Take-Off and Landing of an Aircraftxe2x80x9d proposes a solution to this problem for electronic books. Two implementations are described. The first of these provides in each electronic book a lateral accelerometer coupled to a thresholding circuit that identifies when the electronic book is experiencing the sort of acceleration associated with the takeoff or landing of an airplane. According to the Huffman patent, detection of a sufficient acceleration causes the electronic book to enter a power down sequence. The accelerometer-based system of the Huffman patent has a number of limitations including, for example, the orientation sensitivity of the accelerometer. The threshold acceleration at which the power down sequence commences is determined in part by the orientation of the book with respect to the direction of takeoff or landing acceleration. As such, the initiation of the shutdown sequence will be somewhat unpredictable. This directional sensitivity makes the accelerometer-based system difficult to calibrate accurately to achieve a safe but unobtrusive shut down procedure.
A second implementation described in the Huffman patent provides the electronic book with a receiver coupled to a controller capable of shutting down the electronic book in response to a signal received at the receiver. A transmitter provided in the cabin of the airplane broadcasts a signal to the receivers of the electronic books when power down of electronic books is desired, for example, during takeoff and landing of the airplane. This system has certain disadvantages, as well. The airplane cabin""s broadcasting transmitter is in a fixed position and uses a particular signal to turn off all of the electronic books on the plane. Because of this, only one signal or set of signals will shut down all of the computers at once. Such a mass shut down procedure can be unacceptable to passengers who may have important subject matter active on their computer at the time the shut down signal is transmitted. It may instead be desirable to provide a system having a transmitter capable of being carried in a convenient manner that generates a signal associated with a particular person""s computer. This would allow individual control of the shutdown process thereby allowing a person to initiate the shutdown process at a convenient time. Moreover, providing such individual control would allow the shutdown system to be used in environments other than the airplane.
The shutdown sequence described for these aspects of the Huffman patent is especially adapted for the electronic book and its dedicated operating system. Such a dedicated system is not well suited for a more typical computer system with a general-purpose operating system and more complex sets of peripherals and operating software.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a method of powering down an electronic device incorporating a wireless communication device. The electronic device receives a power down message transmitted from a remote control device and initiates a power down procedure in response to the power down message. The power down procedure shuts down an application program associated with the wireless communication device attached to the electronic device as part of the power down procedure. The method continues by powering down the wireless communication device after shutting down the application program and powering down the electronic device after powering down the wireless communication device.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of powering down a portable computing device having a wireless communication device. The method includes receiving a power down message transmitted from a remote control device with a receiver distinct from the wireless communication device, the receiver associate with the portable computing device and matched to a transmitter used to transmit the power down message. The portable computing device initiates a power down procedure in response to the power down message, which power down procedure references a log file within the portable computing device. The power down procedure shuts down an application program associated with the wireless communication device as part of the power down procedure. The log file is checked to determine if the wireless communication device has been powered down. The power down procedure continues by powering down the wireless communication device after checking the log file and shutting down the application program. The log file is updated to reflect that the wireless communication device has been powered down. The receiver is powered down after powering down the wireless communication device and the portable computing device is powered down after the receiver.